Paul Hayes' Blog

James Bond - Quantum of Solace

Wow. Wow. What a day yesterday...

I spent the whole day at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire on the set of the new James Bond movie - which we now know is called 'Quantum of Solace'.

It's going to be so hard to remember everything that happened, & equally hard to pick out a 'favourite moment' from the experience, but I'll do my best to convey how exciting it all was to be a part of!

I arrived at the studios at 10.15am, & as you can imagine, there was very tight security, with lots of people on walkie-talkies & waving their hands around!
I parked my car & then waited for a mini-bus to take me (and some newspaper/tv journalists) to the soundstage.

This was to be our 'base' for the day. There were some sets for the film towering above us, & at the back, 5 tables for us.. with about 5/6 journalists/media people on each one. This is where we would be conducting our 'round table' interviews throughout the day with the stars of the film & the producers/director. It was also somewhere to sit - as there was quite a lot of waiting around!

We were then taken over to a monitor where we watched a play-back of footage already filmed, including Bond swinging from on a rope after an explosion at an art gallery in Sienna, and another scene showing him meeting M - Played again by Dame Judi Dench - outside in the snow. Incredible to be watching such newly shot Bond action - particularly when special effects & final colouring hadn't yet been added.

Soon after, it was time for our first round table, with the new Bond girl, Gemma Arterton, who plays an MI6 agent in the film - and has already shot her love scenes with Bond! She seemed really lovely, very humble & down to earth, and was clearly very excited about her involvement in a film with such great heritage.
She's only 21, & you may have seen her recently in the St. Trinian's film. She said her character is "fresh & young, not sultry and a femme fatale".

Our next 'round table' interview was with Olga Kurylenko, who plays Bond girl Camille. She hadn't, as yet, filmed any scenes but told us how hard she'd been working preparing for the role - mentally and physically. She said "I'm doing weapons training & stunt work for fight scenes - lot's personal training".

Then it was the turn of French actor Mathieu Amalric who plays the Villain - Dominic Greene! He said to me that he'd asked to have an 'evil characteristic', such as a metal jaw or a bloody eye (like previous Bond villains!), but they wouldn't let him, so his character is just 'purely evil'. He said his character had "the smile of Tony Blair and the crazy eyes of Nicholas Sarkozy". Ha! Brilliant... Can't wait to see it.

We were then taken off for a tour of some other sets (more significant to the plot) in the main (& quite famous) 007 Stage. This was one of my favourite parts of the day. The sets were incredible. I've seen plenty of television sets, most of which look disappointing close-up, often smaller & tackier than you'd imagine. This, however, was a totally different league. The sets on this film are massive, and exceptionally realistic.

The first one we toured was of the art gallery in Siena. It didn't matter how close up you looked, you just couldn't believe that it wasn't marble or concrete as it was meant to portray. The attention to detail was amazing. This set is the scene of some quite dramatic Bond-action apparently, so I'll look forward to seeing that. We then walked round to the other side of the stage where there was a set for an underground 'safehouse' & some tunnels that were meant to be underground in Sienna. Again, having walked all around them, you just felt like you were really there. You couldn't fault how realistic they were. It's only when you then come out, you see how it's all held up with bits of wood & hung with ropes etc. Quite mind-blowing really. It'll be very cool when I see the film, to be able to say "I walked through those tunnels!!" No doubt Mr. Bond won't be 'walking' through them, more likely chasing the villains at a high speed with a gun in hand!

There was then a little wait before the main press conference, which was set up in the original soundstage where our tables were. There were the usual rows of seats for the journalists, and space at the back for all the tv crews, and at the front a long 'top table' for Judi Dench, Michael G. Wilson (Producer), Marc Forster (Director) & Barbara Brocoli (Producer). Thing's got underway, Dame Judi told us how she'll get to do more in this film. She also hinted that her character's relationship with Bond would be "pretty prickly". It'll be her sixth Bond film, and she looked as passionate as ever about being involved.
Co-producer Michael Wilson told us about the name of the film, saying it had been part of a shortlist & only decided "a few days ago", so there was very little chance of it being leaked (up until this press conference it had only been known under it's working title of 'Bond 22'). He also said the story would start "literally an hour after the last film left off".

After the press conference, lunch! ...and I was excited even by this, as it was a proper 'movie-trailer lunch! (if you're interested, they had Salmon, Gammon, brocolli & carrots on offer, and a 'help yourself' salad). I had the Gammon, veg & piled on some salad too.

After lunch, the tension began to mount, as we knew we were going to have our round table with the main man, Daniel Craig. I'd been sat right next to where our 'guests' sat, so knew I'd be right next to him also, which was exciting. Before he came over, the cast had a photocall for the press, and I've never seen so many flashbulbs going off at once... it was as if the special effects guys had created some indoor lightning!

Then, it was time... and Daniel came over to sit with us for 20 minutes. He was delightful, making sure he shook all of our hands & introducing himself. He talked about the title and how it referred to Bond being left heartbroken at the end of Casino Royale, how Ian Fleming had "written about relationships - when they go wrong, when there's nothing left, when the spark has gone, there's no quantum of solace". I was listening, of course... but I was also partly trying to take it all in, & I suddenly thought how cool it was that I'd just shaken his hand - partly that he was Daniel Craig - but more the fact that he was BOND! I'd just shaken James Bond's hand!! One of the best moments of the day when I realised that.

Almost the end of my day with the Bond movie, but before the minibus came to take us back to the car park, we had one more set visit to another Bond stage. This one was set up as 'MI6' - where M is based. This was the weirdest thing ever... It was literally an entire building (all very futuristic looking) that was erected inside this gigantic soundstage. We walked all round it - into different rooms, M's office, up some stairs, round some corridors - no clues that it wasn't a REAL building whatsoever (apart from the fact that we'd just walked into it inside a soundstage!) In a funny sort of way, I was actually thinking that it must make the actor's jobs that little bit easier, because you can totally emerse yourself in your surroundings & believe it really is for real. This set even had ceilings - no clues it was a set once you were inside AT ALL! They just move in the lighting/camera's/equipment they need for each scene depending on where in the MI6 building the action is happening. A very surreal experience.

All in all, a wonderful day - thanks to everyone who helped to arrange it & look after me on the day. One final thought - I'm really sorry if I go to see this film with you when it's out in November - can you imagine what a NIGHTMARE I'll be - "I stood there" "I've been into M's office", "I've shaken his hand" ...you can imagine how annoying I'll be.

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Posted by Paul Hayes on January 25, 2008 at 09:44AM

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